Video poker system and method with bet allocation

ABSTRACT

A method includes displaying a first set of card representations at a display device of a player station. This first set of card representations is divided into a number of card representation subsets. The method also includes receiving a subset selection input and a wager allocation input at the player station. The subset selection input selects a first and second subset of card representations from the various subsets that have been displayed. Each of these different subsets will be used together with a second, “community” set of card representations displayed at the player station to produce a respective final hand for the player. The wager allocation input allocates a wager amount between the first and second subsets of card representations. First and second prize values are awarded for hands produced from the selected subsets combined with the community card set and considering the wager allocations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/113,761 filed Apr. 25, 2005 and entitled “VIDEO POKER SYSTEM ANDMETHOD WITH BET ALLOCATION,” now U.S. Pat. No. ______, and is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/100,278 filed Apr.6, 2005 and entitled “VIDEO POKER SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH MULTIPLECONCURRENT STARTING HANDS,” now U.S. Pat. No. ______. The Applicantclaims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/113,761 and11/100,278 under 35 U.S.C. §120. The entire content of each of theabove-identified U.S. patent applications is incorporated herein by thisreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to video gaming systems. More particularly, theinvention is directed to a video poker gaming apparatus, method, andprogram product that facilitates increased player interaction in thecourse of game play without unduly slowing play.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Video poker gaming machines are designed to replicate the play of apoker game. These gaming machines commonly include a video displaydevice together with a set of player controls through which a player mayplace bets and take various actions in the course of a game. The cardsdealt to the player are displayed on the video display device as graphiccard representations. The graphic representations of cards dealt in avideo poker game will be referred to in this disclosure and theaccompanying claims as “card representations.” In some video pokergames, the object of the game is to beat a dealer whose hand issimulated on the video display. In other video poker games, the playerdoes not play against any competitor. In these types of video pokergames, the object is to produce the best hand for the particular game,and prizes are awarded to the player based on the value of the handwithout regard to the value of any other card hand produced by anotherplayer or simulated player. In these latter types of video poker games,prizes are awarded based on a paytable that correlates each possiblecard hand value to a respective prize level.

In view of the keen competition for players, different types of videopoker games have proliferated over the last ten to twenty years. Gamingsystem providers continuously strive to provide new types of video pokergames and interesting game graphics in order to capture and maintainplayer interest. One way to make games more interesting to players is toprovide a high degree of player interaction in the course of a game.However, increased player interaction may be at odds with another goalof video gaming systems, to provide relatively rapid play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an exciting and interactive video pokergame in which a player may make an initial bet and then allocate thatinitial bet between multiple poker hands. In preferred forms of theinvention, prizes are awarded according to a paytable that correlateseach possible poker hand value to a respective prize level. For example,the poker hand values “three-of-a-kind,” a “pair,” and a “full house”are each correlated to a respective prize level.

A method embodying the principles of the invention includes displaying afirst set of card representations at a display device of a playerstation. This first set of card representations is divided into a numberof card representation subsets. The method also includes receiving asubset selection input and a wager allocation input at the playerstation. The subset selection input selects a first and second subset ofcard representations from the various subsets that have been displayed.Each of these different subsets will be used together with a second,“community” set of card representations displayed at the player stationto produce a respective final hand for the player. The wager allocationinput allocates a wager amount between the first and second subsets ofcard representations, that is, the different hands being played by theplayer.

The method also includes awarding a first prize value and a second prizevalue. The first prize value is based on an optimum hand identified froma combination of the second set of card representations and the firstsubset of card representations considering the wager allocated to thefirst subset, and the second prize value is based on an optimum hand ofcard representations identified from a combination of the second set ofcard representations and the second subset of card representationsconsidering the wager allocated to the second subset.

One preferred form of the invention includes displaying a separate handvalue indicator on the display device to indicate the value of the handproduced from each of the player's selected subsets when combined withthe second set of card representations. A hand value indicator may alsobe displayed on the display device for each other combination of cardrepresentation subset and second set of card representations. Thus, theplayer is not only advised of the value of his hand but also theapparent value of the hands produced by combining the second set of cardrepresentations with the card representation subsets that the player didnot select.

The result for the player may be identified in a number of ways withinthe scope of the present invention. For example, a result may beidentified from an electronic lottery ticket assigned to the player. Aresult for a player may also be produced from a result for the player ina bingo game. Results may also be randomly determined according to somealgorithm. It is also possible that the result of a given play in thegame may be determined by an actual evaluation of each subset of cardrepresentations selected by the player together with the second set ofcard representations that have been selected/dealt at random from asimulated deck of cards.

A gaming system according to principles of the present invention mayinclude one, and preferably many, player stations each having a displaydevice and a player control arrangement for enabling the player toselect their desired card representation subsets and allocate theirwager between the selected subsets. The gaming system also preferablyincludes a distribution controller which identifies and distributes thefirst and second set of card representations to a given player station.In forms of the invention in which results are identified by an actualevaluation of the card representations dealt in the game, a combinationcontroller may be included in the system for combining the second set ofcard representations from the distribution controller with the playerselected card representation subsets to identify an optimum card handfor each respective subset. A prize controller may also be provided forawarding/assigning prizes to the player correlating to the player'soptimum card hands.

The present invention also includes a program product stored on at leastone storage medium. The program product includes a set ofmachine-readable instructions that are executable to carry out themethods disclosed herein.

These and other advantages and features of the invention will beapparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments,considered along with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a high level diagrammatic representation of a gaming system inwhich the present invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a gaming method embodyingprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the first set of card representations thatmay be displayed in response to a first input from a player at a playerstation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a display that may be presented to theplayer to indicate the player's card representation subset selectionsand wager allocations according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a display that may be presented to theplayer to show both the first set of card representations and the secondset of card representations together with results produced for theplayer.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows an example gaming system 100 that enables a player to takepart in a video poker game according to the present invention. Gamingsystem 100 includes one or more gaming sites/casinos 101. Each gamingsite 101 may include a local area server (LAS) 102 and a number ofelectronic player stations (EPSs) 103. When multiple gaming sites 101are included in the system 100, the system may also include a centralgame server (CGS) 111 to allow system wide communications, datacollection, and control between or among gaming sites 101.

Each EPS 103 shown in FIG. 1 includes a processor 105 and a userinterface arrangement including a player control arrangement 107 and adisplay device 109. Although not shown separately in the drawing,processor 105 may be associated with nonvolatile memory, volatilememory, and a communications interface. The volatile and nonvolatilememory of EPS 103 may store computer program code that is executed byprocessor 105 to cause the processor to perform or direct the variousfunctions provided by the EPS. Player control arrangement 107 mayinclude various configurations of buttons, switches, pointing devices,and other devices that allow a player to make inputs during the courseof a poker game. Display device 109 includes at least one videomonitor/display such as a CRT, LCD, plasma, or other display device fordisplaying graphics in the course of game play. In particular, displaydevice 109 displays various playing card representations as will bedescribed in detail below. It will also be noted that player controlfunctions may be integrated with display device 109 by using atouchscreen display device. In these arrangements, the display screenitself, or more specifically, the touch-sensitive film applied over thedisplay screen and the controller associated with the touch-sensitivefilm, comprises part of player control arrangement 107.

It will be appreciated that FIG. 1 provides only a very diagrammaticrepresentation of each EPS 103 and does not show many elements that maybe included in an EPS 103 that may be used in a gaming system accordingto the present invention. Further, the EPSs 103 need not be identicalthroughout the system 100. Rather, there may be wide variations in thevarious components included in each EPS 103. The system shown in FIG. 1is limited generally to show just the elements necessary or helpful indescribing the present invention. Further elements that may be includedin an actual EPS are not shown so as not to obscure the presentinvention in unnecessary detail.

Examples of additional components that may be included with an EPS 103include a separate graphics processor for driving display device 109, asound system for providing high quality audio output at the EPS 103, anda visual alerting device such as a light mounted at the top of the EPS.Also, those familiar with gaming machines will appreciate that each EPS103 may include a device for receiving value and issuing value in thecourse of play. For example, an EPS 103 may include a device orarrangement of devices for accepting currency, vouchers, and/or tokens,and a device or arrangement of devices for dispensing currency,vouchers, and/or tokens as winnings. Of course, any appropriate devicefor receiving and issuing value in games played according to the presentinvention may be used, and the device may even be completely separatefrom the EPS 103. Alternatively or in addition to value in/out devices,EPSs 103 may obtain player account information and account for wagersand winnings in the manner set out in U.S. publication No. 2002-0132666on Sep. 19, 2002, and entitled “Distributed Account Based GamingSystem.” An EPS 103 in system 100 may include any suitable card readerfor reading information from a player account or player account cardand/or a suitable interface such as an actual keypad or touchscreenkeypad that allows a player to input player account or player accountidentifying information.

Player account related databases and other databases that may be used insystem 100 may be maintained at any suitable point in the system. Inpreferred implementations of system 100, the respective LAS 102associated with a given gaming site maintains accounting and playerdatabases for players using EPSs 103 at that particular gaming site.However, a more centralized component, such as CGS 111 may alsoparticipate in maintaining player account and player activityinformation.

The LAS 102 shown in FIG. 1 may include at least one computer systemhaving one or more processors, nonvolatile memory, volatile memory, auser interface arrangement (for system administration), and acommunications interface (not shown). The volatile and nonvolatilememory may store computer program code that may be executed by theprocessors to cause the processors to perform or direct the variousfunctions provided by LAS 102. The specific functions of LAS 102 dependupon how results of the game are driven. For example, when results aredriven by a bingo-type game, LAS 102 may serve primarily to transfer orrelay information to or from its respective EPSs 103 so that bingo gamesmay be conducted at a centralized system such as CGS 111. In otherembodiments, for example when results of the game are driven by alottery-type game, LAS 102 may store one or more pools of lotteryrecords for use in satisfying game play requests originating from theLAS's respective EPSs 103.

LAS 102 may communicate with its respective EPSs 103 across a suitablecommunications network. Each EPS 103 may communicate with its LAS 102across the network to provide status information such as information onany player that may be identified at an EPS 103, or other informationconcerning the EPS such as player inputs. For controlling the pokergames and awarding different prizes in a game, LAS 102 may also includeor interact with a distribution controller 113, a combination controller115, and/or a prize controller 117.

The distribution controller 113 shown in FIG. 1 is implemented throughone or more processing devices at LAS 102 and identifies cardrepresentations to be displayed to the player for a given play in thegame. For example, distribution controller 113 may shuffle a deck ofcard representations prior to distributing the card representations toone or more players, each participating at a respective one of the EPSs103. By “shuffle” it is meant that the distribution controller 113 isprogrammed to randomize the order of the cards that are to be dealt tothe player or players. The randomization may occur by randomizing a listof cards grouped into a file and distributing the card representationsto a player sequentially from the file according to the randomized list.Alternatively, the card representations may be ordered in the file andrandomly selected from the file for distribution to the player. Ofcourse, other variations for the distribution of card representationsare contemplated and would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart and viewing the present disclosure. In particular, as will bedescribed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 2, the cardrepresentations may also be identified based on a result of a bingo gameor a lottery game or some other result unrelated to the randomassignment of card representations.

The combination controller 115 shown in FIG. 1 is implemented throughthe processor 105 at each respective EPS 103. Each combinationcontroller 115 operates under the control of program code to combine andevaluate different groups of the card representations that aredistributed by distribution controller 113 to the respective EPS 103. Itwill be appreciated that the element in the present invention thatcombines and evaluates card hands according to the invention need not beimplemented at the respective EPS 103. Rather, a combination controllerwithin the scope of the present invention may be implemented at LAS 102or at some other component in system 100. Furthermore, someimplementations of the present invention may integrate the combinationand evaluation function with the card representation distributionfunction performed by distribution controller 113. Other implementationsmay use pre-defined results and thus may not require the functionsprovided by combination controller 115. Thus, some preferred forms ofthe present invention may include no separate combination controllersuch as the controllers 115 shown in FIG. 1.

The prize controller 117 shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented through therespective EPS processor 105 or through a separate processing device toassign appropriate prizes in a video poker game according to the presentinvention. Regardless of where prize controller 117 is implemented inthe system, the prize controller assigns prizes for a player's pokerhand based on the value of the hand as dictated by a paytablecorrelating each combination of poker hand value and wager level to arespective prize value. For example, a prize controller 117 shown inFIG. 1 may perform a paytable look up to find the prize associated withthe poker hand identified by the combination controller 115. In otherforms of the invention, especially forms in which results in the gameare determined through a lottery-type game result, bingo-type gameresult, or a result from some other random result generator, prizeassignment may also be integrated with the function of distributioncontroller 113. In these forms of the invention, there may be noseparate prize assignment controller or controllers 117 as shown inFIG. 1. Regardless of the particular system element responsible foridentifying the prize to be awarded to a player for a given poker handplayed in the game, the prize may be awarded in the form of a creditapplied to a player account, in the form of currency or a cash outticket dispensed at the EPS 103, or in any other suitable form.

Gaming system 100 may use the CGS 111 or even the LAS 102 as a centralprocessing system for various purposes. Specifically, either the LAS 102or CGS 111 may hold data for implementing accounting or player tracking,and the CGS 111 may perform all of the functions that the LAS 102 mayperform. For example, when the CGS 111 serves as the central processingsystem, the distribution controller 113 shown in dashed lines at the CGS111 could directly communicate with the EPSs 103 or communicate throughthe respective LAS 102 to identify and distribute card representationsto EPSs 103 at different gaming sites 101. Further, CGS 111 may belocated at a site remote from the site of LAS 102 and EPSs 103. Thisprovides a convenient arrangement for updating player information at acentral location as players move from one casino/gaming site 101 to thenext in gaming system 100.

Where the results used according to the present invention are identifiedfrom a bingo game, CGS 111 may serve as a component for conducting thebingo games and identifying bingo results. In particular, CGS 111 mayserve a function similar to the element of the same name shown atreference numeral 101 in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2004-0152499-A1, published Aug. 5, 2004, and having the title “Method,System, and Program Product for Conducting Multiple ConcurrentBingo-Type Games,” the entire content of which is incorporated herein bythis reference. As noted in this incorporated publication, LAS 102 mayalso serve as the bingo game conducting component in some instances.

Where results are produced in a lottery-type game, CGS 111 and LAS 102may cooperate to provide lottery results. For example, CGS 111 may alsoperform the functions provided by the game manufacturing computer system11 in U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,385 B1, and LAS 102 may perform the functionof central computer system 12 shown in that patent. The entire contentof U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,385 B1 is incorporated herein by this reference.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a gaming method 200 embodyingprinciples of the present invention. This process shown in FIG. 2represents the process with respect to a single cycle of play in thegame for a given player. As indicated at process block 202, a playermakes a first input at a player station (such as an EPS 103 shown inFIG. 1) to enter a video poker game. At process block 203, a first setof card representations is identified and distributed to the playerstation, and at process block 204, the first set of card representationsis displayed in subsets at the player station. As indicated at processblock 206, the player makes a second input at the player station toselect two or more of the subsets and allocate their wager between theselected subsets, and a second set of card representations is identifiedand distributed as shown at process block 207. The process includesdisplaying this second set of card representations at the player stationas indicated at process block 208, and at process block 209, each of thedifferent subsets of the first set of card representations are combinedwith the second set to identify an optimum hand value for eachcombination. Appropriate prizes are awarded as indicated at processblock 210.

When gaming system 100 of FIG. 1 is used to implement the gaming method200 of FIG. 2, a player may make the first input indicated at processblock 202 through one of the EPSs 103 shown in FIG. 1. For example, theplayer may make a first input by actuating a “deal” or “play” button orother control included in player control arrangement 107 shown inFIG. 1. This first input also preferably includes the player making awager in some fashion through the EPS 103. It will be appreciated thatthe input to initiate the game may be separate from making the wager.Thus, the first input may involve one or more separate actions or inputsat the EPS 103.

The step of identifying and distributing the first set of cardrepresentations as shown at process block 203 in FIG. 2 may be performedin a number of different fashions within the scope of the presentinvention. In one embodiment, distribution controller 113 of examplegaming system 100 in FIG. 1 acts as a card dealer for the video pokergame, selecting card representations at random from an electronicallyrepresented deck of card representations. Alternatively, in anembodiment in which game results are obtained from a lottery-type game,distribution controller 113 selects card representations for the firstset of card representations based on one or more lottery resultsselected from one or more lottery record pools. In yet anotherembodiment, one in which results are obtained from a bingo-type game,distribution controller 113 selects card representations based on one ormore bingo results. Various options within the scope of the inventionfor identifying and distributing the first set of card representationswill be described further below in reference to the example displaysshown in FIGS. 3 through 5.

It will be noted that the distribution of the first set of cardrepresentations as indicated at process block 203 is accomplished bycommunicating sufficient information/data to the respective EPS 103 toallow the EPS to display the desired card representations through theEPS display device 109. This information/data may take numerousdifferent forms within the scope of the invention. For example, the datacommunicated to the EPS 103 for each card representation may comprisedata actually defining the respective card representation includinggraphics instructions. Alternatively, the data communicated the EPS 103for each card representation may comprise simply a code and the EPSincludes programming to generate the necessary display commands fromthat code. Also, the data communicated to the EPS to “distribute” thefirst set of card representations may comprise a code from which theentire first set of card representations may be determined at the EPSfor appropriate display. Also, it should again be noted that some formsof the invention may leave it to the EPS 103 to identify the specificcard representations to be displayed in the first set of cardrepresentations and thus there may be not communication to the EPS 103to distribute card representations. Rather, it may be only a result forthe game that is distributed to the EPS 103.

The step of displaying the distributed first set of card representationsshown at process block 204 may be performed using a suitable displaydevice such as an EPS display device 109 shown in FIG. 1. The displayfor a given EPS 103 may be controlled through EPS processor 105 in FIG.1 and/or a separate graphics processor that may be included with the EPSas described above. The card representations may be displayed in variousfashions and formats within the scope of the invention. In every case,however, the card representations are separated into three or moresubsets in some fashion to facilitate the player choice indicated atblock 206 in FIG. 2. The player choice in some forms of the inventionmay even be to select certain card representations from the first set,thereby creating the subsets by the player choice. In the exampledescribed below with reference to FIG. 3, the first set of cardrepresentations are displayed in five different two-card subsets witheach card displayed face up. Alternatively, the distributed cardrepresentations may be displayed face down. In embodiments in which eachcard subset includes multiple card representations, the cardrepresentation subsets may each be displayed having some cardrepresentations displayed face up and other card representationsdisplayed face down.

The player input indicated at process block 206 in FIG. 2 is preferablyentered through a suitable player input arrangement at the player'splayer station. In the example system in FIG. 1, the input may beentered though player control arrangement 107 or through a touchscreenimplemented with display 109 and included in the player controlarrangement. Regardless of the display method or the particular form ofthe player input, the input shown at process block 206 effectivelyselects two or more card representation subsets from the first set ofcard representations displayed as indicated at process block 204. Aswill be described further below, the player's input/selection may or maynot affect the player's result for the game regardless of whetherresults are determined randomly or from a lottery-type game orbingo-type game.

The step of identifying and distributing the second, “community” set ofcard representations indicated at block 207 in FIG. 2, may be performedby the card distribution controller 113 shown in FIG. 1. The manner inwhich the step is performed may vary significantly within the scope ofthe present invention as may the number of card representations includedin the second set of such representations. In some forms of theinvention, distribution controller 113 randomly selects electronicallyrepresented cards from a card deck under control of a suitable randomselection program. In these forms of the invention, the result for theplayer is determined by an evaluation of the hands produced by combiningthe player's selections at block 206 and the second set of cardrepresentations randomly selected at block 207. In forms of theinvention in which the player's result or results are obtained from aresult in a lottery-type game or a bingo-type game, or in which theplayer's result/results are randomly determined in some fashion beforethe step at process block 207, the step of identifying and distributingthe second, “community” card representation set at block 207 isperformed so as to force the given result/results. These variations inthe step performed at block 207 will be described further below afterdescribing the example displays in FIGS. 3 through 5. It will be notedthat the step of distributing card representations included in thesecond set of card representations may be performed in any of the waysdescribed above in connection with the identifying and distributing stepshown at process block 203.

The process of displaying the second set of card representations shownat process block 208 may be performed in the same fashion as describedabove with reference to the displaying step shown at process block 204.As with the displaying step 204, the displaying step at block 208 mayinclude displaying the card representations in any of a number ofdifferent arrangements or formats. In the display shown in FIG. 4 forexample, the second set of card representations is displayed with eachrepresentation card face up. The graphics may show the second set ofcards being dealt one at a time, or the second set of cardrepresentations may appear on the display device suddenly. Other displayarrangements may show the cards initially face down and the player maybe required to make some input to cause the card representations to beshown face up, either all at the same time or individually one at atime. In any case, the card representations are preferably displayed atthe EPS display device 109 in FIG. 1 under suitable control from EPSprocessor 105 and/or a separate graphics processor included at theplayer's EPS 103.

Where the step of combining the second set of card representations isperformed separately as indicated at process block 209 in FIG. 2, thestep may be preformed by the respective combination controller 115included at the player's EPS 103 shown in FIG. 1. This combination stepincludes at least combining the player's selected subsets of cardrepresentations selected at block 206 and the second set of cardrepresentations and evaluating the combination to identify the optimum,that is, highest valued card hand according to the given rules of thepoker game. In some forms of the invention, the combination andevaluation may be performed for each separate subset of cardrepresentations that were available for the player to choose at block206. In any case, the combination and evaluation may be performed by anysuitable processing device under control of combination and evaluationsoftware. For example, a processor may be programmed to compare thecombined card representations sequentially against each of a number ofcard hand value definitions. The highest value match for a givencombination represents the optimum value for that hand. Of course, informs of the invention in which the result/results are known from arandom result generator, lottery-type game, or bingo-type game, theremay be no separate combination and evaluation step as indicated at block209. That is, there is no combination and evaluation to identify theplayer's game result/results as shown at process block 209 in forms ofthe invention in which the result/results are already known. However,even when the player's result/results are known, the combination andevaluation step may be performed to identify an apparent result for eachsubset not selected by the player unless those results are alsopredetermined in some fashion.

The prize awarding step shown at process block 210 in FIG. 2 maycomprise any process by which the prize for the player dictated by theresult/results of the game play may be awarded to the player. Forexample, in the system shown in FIG. 1, the prize controller 117associated with the player's EPS 103 may perform a look up in a resulttable/paytable that correlates a given game result and wager combinationto a prize in the game. However, in forms of the invention in which theresult/results are taken from a random result generator, lottery-typegame, or bingo-type game, the result/results may already beassociated/correlated to a given prize. In these forms of the invention,the prize awarding step shown at block 210 in FIG. 2 may include merelyassigning the identified prize to the player in accordance with theparticular game accounting system employed in the given implementation.Regardless of how the prize awarding step shown at process block 210 isperformed, the step results in an award of a respective prize value foreach respective combination of a player selected card representationsubset and the second set of card representations. The respective prizevalue may be in credits, currency, or any other form of payout and mayinclude payouts of no value as well as payouts having some value. Apayout value of zero, that is, a loss, is considered a payout valuewithin the scope of the present invention and the claim language set outbelow. Where the player selects two different card representationsubsets, the awarding step at block 210 may award a first prize valuefor a first one of the selected card representation subsets and a secondprize value for the second one of the selected card representationsubsets. If additional card representation subsets are selected by theplayer by the subset selection input, each additional cardrepresentation subset would be associated with a respective additionalprize value. In each case it will be noted that the prize value for agiven combination of a given selected card representation subset and thesecond set of card representations is dependent in part on the portionof the overall wager amount that was allocated to the respective cardrepresentation subset as indicated by the wager allocation input whichis part of the input at block 206 in FIG. 2. Thus, the allocationbetween selected card representation subsets does in fact affect theplayer's overall payout.

The step shown at process block 210 in FIG. 2 may also includedisplaying a hand value indicator at least for the player's selectedsubsets from block 206, and preferably for each subset of cardrepresentations that were available to the player for their selection atblock 206. Specific examples of this hand value indicator will bedescribed below with reference to FIG. 5. Each hand value indicator maybe displayed under the control of the prize controller 117 shown inFIG. 1. Other forms of the invention may employ some other element inthe system to cause the hand value indicators to be displayed.

FIG. 3 shows a first set 300 of card representations that may beidentified and distributed as indicated at process block 203 in FIG. 2and then displayed as indicated at process block 204 in FIG. 2. Thefirst set 300 of card representations includes ten different player cardrepresentations, each shown face up and divided into five subsets of twocard representations each. In this example display that may be producedaccording to the invention, the first subset 302 is illustratedincluding card representation 303 comprising the king of hearts and cardrepresentation 304 comprising the two of diamonds. The second subset 306is illustrated including card representation 307 comprising the queen ofdiamonds and card representation 308 comprising the ten of diamonds 308.The third subset 310 includes card representation 311 comprising the tenof spades and the card representation 312 comprising the seven ofspades. The fourth subset 314 includes the card representation 315comprising the five of diamonds and the card representation 316comprising the three of hearts. The fifth and final subset 318 includesthe card representation 319 comprising the jack of spades and the cardrepresentation 320 comprising the queen of hearts.

It should be noted that the illustration shown in FIG. 3 is simply anexample that may be used to help describe the principles of the presentinvention, and is in no way to be considered limiting. Many variationsin the display made according to process block 204 are possible withinthe scope of the present invention. For example, numerous other graphicrepresentations may be used to show card faces, and the invention is notlimited to the simple representations shown for purposes of example.Also, the invention is not limited to five different subsets for thefirst set of card representations, nor is the invention limited tosubsets including two card representations. Other variations of theinvention may include subsets containing two card representations, butwith one face up and the other face down. All of the cardrepresentations in the first set 300 may initially be shown face downand one or more cards may be flipped in response to some player input,entered at the respective player's EPS, or in response to some otherevent. In any event, the display ultimately made as indicated at block204 in FIG. 2 gives the player a choice between three or more optionsfor their card hands. The five-choice arrangement shown in FIG. 3 is butone possibility within the scope of the present invention.

The display illustrated in FIG. 3 also enables the player to allocatetheir overall wager according to the present invention. This overallwager is preferably made as part of the player input at block 202 inFIG. 2, but may be made at other points in the process. In someimplementations for example, the overall wager may be made after thefirst set of card representations is displayed as indicated in FIG. 3.In this latter case, the player may make the overall wager input (whichmay also be referred to as simply the “wager input”) as part of theplayer input indicated at process block 206 in FIG. 2. In any case, thewager (overall wager) may be allocated between any of the cardrepresentation subsets selected by the player. The allocation is thuspreferably made by the player as part of the player input shown atprocess block 206 in FIG. 2. It should also be noted that the wagerallocation may be accomplished in any suitable fashion with the playercontrol arrangement associated with the given player station at whichthe player is participating in the game. For example, once the playerhas selected his or her card representation subsets to play in the gamecycle, a dialog presented on the display device may prompt the player touse a numeric keypad or increase/decrease control to enter the desiredwager allocation for each selected subset. As another example, once theplayer selects his or her card representation subsets, their overallwager may be initially evenly divided between each selection, and thenthe player may operate appropriate controls at the player station toincrease or decrease each initial allocation. Regardless of how theplayer allocation inputs are entered at the player station, theallocation results in an allocation of the overall wager between thevarious card representation subsets selected by the player.

FIG. 4 provides an example of a display that may be produced accordingto the invention in response to the subset selection input to select twoor more card representation subsets and in response to the wagerallocation input, both preferably entered as part of the input at block206 in FIG. 2. In this particular example, the player has selectedsubset 306 and subset 310. The selection is shown in this particulardisplay by having the selected subsets raised up in the display withrespect to the non-selected subsets. However, the selection may beindicated on the display in any suitable fashion. The wager allocationis shown in this example by a separate wager window located proximate tothe respective selected card representation subset. Wager window 402indicates the player has allocated six of a total of the ten creditoverall wager to subset 306. Wager window 404 indicates the player hasallocated the remaining four credits of the overall ten credit wager tosubset 310. It will be appreciated that although the wager windows shownin FIG. 4 provide a convenient way to display the player's wagerallocation, numerous other wager allocations may be used within thescope of the invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a display that may be produced according tothe invention in accordance with process block 208 in FIG. 2 as modifiedwith any hand value indicators which may be displayed in accordance withprocess block 210. That is, the example graphic shown in FIG. 5 may begenerated at an EPS display device 109 (FIG. 1) after the player'sselection of one or more subsets from the first set 300 of cardrepresentations and allocation of overall wager as shown in FIG. 4. Inthis example graphic, the second set of card representations isindicated by reference numeral 502, and includes five additional cardrepresentations. The specific card representations in the example ofFIG. 5 are the seven of diamonds, the jack of diamonds, the king ofclubs, the ten of clubs, and the four of diamonds. The player's selectedsubsets, 306 and 310, are still indicated in FIG. 5 by appearing raisedrelative to the unselected subsets. Of course numerous other graphiceffects may be used to distinguish the player's selected subsets of cardrepresentations from the unselected subsets or card representations asindicated above with respect to the display shown in FIG. 4.

According to the invention, the result of the game for the given playeris determined or illustrated by combining the card representations fromthe second/community set 502 of card representations with the playerselected subsets from the first set 300 of card representations, in thisexample, subsets 306 and 310. In this example, a portion of the resultis indicated by the optimum/highest five-card hand produced by thecombination of card subset 306 and second card representation set 502,and corresponds to a “flush” made up of the queen, jack, ten, seven, andfour of diamonds. The remainder of the result is indicated by theoptimum/highest five-card hand produced by the combination of the cardsubset 310 and second card representation set 502, and corresponds tothe poker hand “two pair.”

The graphic example shown in FIG. 5 also shows hand value indicatorsdisplayed proximate to each subset from the first set 300 of cardrepresentations which produces a hand having some value according to therules of the particular poker game. Specifically, FIG. 5 shows handvalue indicator 506 for the player's selected subset 306, hand valueindicator 508 for subset 302, hand value indicator 512 for subset 310,and hand value indicator 510 for subset 318. The hand value indicator506 and 512 for the player's first selected subset 306 and secondselected subset 310, respectively, allows the player to quicklyascertain the value of their hands, and the hand value indicators forthe unselected subsets allow the player to quickly ascertain whetherthey appear to have made the best choice of card representation subsetsfrom the first set 300. Also the hand value indicators allow the playerto quickly ascertain whether they appear to have made the best choice inallocating the overall wager between the multiple selected cardrepresentation subsets. Numerous different graphics may be used inaddition to or in lieu of the simple hand value labels shown forpurposes of example in FIG. 5.

Various options within the scope of the present invention foridentifying and distributing card representations as indicated at block203 and block 207 in FIG. 2, may now be described in terms of theconcrete display example shown in FIGS. 3 through 5. In one form of theinvention, the results may in fact be determined based on the card handvalues produced by the card representations distributed in the secondset (such as set 502 in FIG. 5), and on the player's selected subsets(306 and 310 in FIGS. 3 through 5). In this form of the invention, eachof the card representations in first set 300 and in second set 502 arein fact randomly selected by a suitable selection arrangement from anelectronically represented card deck. Since the results are determinedbased on randomly selected card representations, the process mustinclude a step of combining the cards from the second set 402 with thecard representations in the player's selected subsets 306 and 310 andany other subset for which a hand value is to be displayed in a handvalue indicator. This combination and evaluation step is indicated atprocess block 209 in FIG. 2 and may comprise any means of evaluating thegiven combination of card representations to identify the highest valuedhand that may be produced by the combination.

In forms of the invention in which a result or results are taken from arandom result generator or from a lottery-type game or bingo-type game,the process of identifying cards at either block 203 or 207 may not berandom depending upon the particular card game rules. In these cases,the card representations that are identified and ultimately displayed tothe player must be displayed so that the graphic presentation isconsistent with the result/results obtained for the player. For example,if a result has been determined in some fashion for the player and thisresult is to represent the player's result regardless of the playerchoice/selection made as indicated at block 206 in FIG. 2, then the cardrepresentations included in the subsets of the first set of cardrepresentations and the card representations included in thesecond/community set of card representations must be controlled to theextent necessary to produce a hand value consistent with the player'sresult. The following examples illustrate the necessary control. Assumethat the player's result for a give game cycle is a loss, that is,multiple hands, each having no value. In that case, the subsets formedfrom the first set of card representations must not include anycombinations of value, such as a “pair” where the subsets are made up oftwo card representations. Also in this case, the card representationsidentified for the second/community set of card representations mustinclude no card combinations of value and must not produce anycombinations of value when combined with the player's selected subsets.Thus, the card representations identified at block 203 and at block 207must be identified in a manner so as not to violate these two rules. Foranother example, assume that the player's result for one selected subsetcorrelates to “flush” and the player's result for another selectedsubset correlates to “two pair” as in the example shown in FIG. 5. Inthis case, since the “flush” or “two pair” result may be produced fromthe second set of card representations regardless of which two-cardsubset the player selects from the first set of card representations,the first set of card representations may be identified at random or inpredetermined groups, or in any other suitable fashion. Also, the stepof identifying card representations as indicated at block 207 willinclude making sure that the identified second set of cardrepresentations will produce a five card “flush” when combined with theplayer's selected subset 306, and no higher valued hand and “two pair”when combined with the player's selected subset 310. Thus, theidentification process at block 207 may include evaluating the subsetthat the player has selected and then producing the second set of cardrepresentations to ensure that the highest five card hand produced fromsubset 306 and the second set of card representations 502 comprises a“flush,” that is, five cards of the same suit, and the highest five cardhand produced from subset 310 and the second set of card representationscomprises a “two pair.”

As indicated in the above examples, each result that may be used as aresult for the player in a video poker game according to the presentinvention may be associated with a series of rules that are used inidentifying the card representations to be displayed as the first set ofcard representations and second set of card representations. Somepreferred forms of the invention may include one or more databasescorrelating each potential result for a player with the cardrepresentation identification rules and also any prize associated withthe result. For example, a result from a lottery-type game, bingo-typegame, or a random result generator, may be identified as a result level,level “0” for example, and this result level may be correlated to both aprize level/value, no prize for example, and one or more rules to ensurethat the graphic displayed according to process blocks 204 and 208 inFIG. 2 will be consistent with the result. The rules may be read fromthe database and applied by the component responsible for identifyingand distributing card representations, distribution controller 113 forexample, to ensure that card representations are identified to beconsistent with the result level. The prize value information from thedatabase may be used to award the prize as indicated at process block210 in FIG. 2. Alternatively to applying rules to identify cardrepresentations “on the fly” at process blocks 203 and 207 in FIG. 2,each potential result may be pre-associated with a number of differentdisplays of card representations that may be used to display theplayer's result for the multiple subsets selected in the course of play.In these forms of the invention, the process of identifying cardrepresentations at blocks 203 and 207 in FIG. 2 includes selecting oneof the pre-associated or “canned” display scenarios.

It will be noted that regardless of how the results are determined forthe player, the subsets of the first set of card representations thatare not selected by the player may be shown to have any result. Thisresult may be greater than the result for the player or less than theresult for the player. In FIG. 5 for example, all of the results thatappear to be associated with the unselected subsets, subsets 302, 314,and 318, are of lesser value than the results depicted for the player'sselected subsets, subset 306 and 310. However, since the valuesassociated with the unselected subsets have no bearing upon the player'sresult, the results could have indicated a higher value, such as“four-of-a-kind.”

In some forms of the invention, the result for a given play may be asingle result from a lottery-type game or bingo-type game, or othergame, and this result is ultimately awarded to the player regardless ofthe selection they make at process block 206 in FIG. 2. However, evenwhere the result for a player is taken from a lottery-type game,bingo-type game, or some random result generating arrangement, it ispossible within the scope of the present invention to allow the player'sselection to affect their result. Where results are taken from alottery-type game for example, each subset from the first set of cardrepresentations may be associated with a different lottery result, thatis, a different electronic lottery ticket, either from the same lotterypool or from different lottery pools. The player's selection of eachsubset in this arrangement has the effect of selecting a particularresult from among other available results associated with the othersubsets. Of course, since the result will ultimately be represented by afive card hand and less than five cards are included in each subset thatmay be selected by a player, the subsets themselves preferably do notindicate the associated result. Also, the results displayed for theunselected subsets may or may not comprise the actual results with whicheach subset is associated.

Where the results are taken from a bingo-type game, each subset that maybe selected by the player may be associated with a different bingo card.In this case the result for the player is dependent upon the resultproduced for the bingo card effectively selected by the player when theyselect their subset of card representations from the first set of cardrepresentations. In this arrangement, since the player's actual resultwill ultimately be represented by a five card hand, and since less thanfive cards are included in each subset that may be selected by a player,the subsets themselves preferably do not indicate the result for thebingo card associated with the respective subsets. In some forms of theinvention in which each subset of card representations is associatedwith a respective bingo card, the result for a given bingo card may notbe known to the system at the time of the player makes their selectionof subsets at process block 206 in FIG. 2.

Another variation within the scope of the present invention involves therelationship between the player's selection of card representationsubsets and the result/results to be awarded to the player. The resultfor the player for a given game cycle may comprise a single result ormultiple results even though the player selects multiple cardrepresentation subsets as illustrated at FIGS. 4 and 5. For example,where the results in the gaming system are taken from a lottery-typegame, a single lottery-type game result may be used to dictate theresult to be represented by all of the player's selected subsets whenindividually combined with the second card representation set.Continuing with this example, assume a player selects two cardrepresentation subsets at block 206 in FIG. 2. For this play in thegame, also assume a single result is taken from a lottery-type game, andthat result includes a result payout value of ten credits. In thissituation the optimum hand values for the combination of the firstselected card representation subset and the second set of cardrepresentations at the allocated bet level for the first subset, and thecombination of the second selected card representation subset and thesecond set of card representations at the allocated bet level for thesecond subset will be controlled to be consistent with the win/totalpayout value of ten credits. Either combination might have a resultpayout value of ten credits with the other combination have a resultpayout value of no credits, or both combinations may have a respectiveresult payout value of some credits totaling to ten.

In other forms of the invention, a different result will be obtained foreach selection of card representation subsets. In the lottery-type gamedriven versions of the present invention, the different results may beobtained by selecting multiple different lottery results from one ormore pools of lottery records. For example, where a player selects twodifferent card representation subsets, a first lottery result togetherwith the payout value for that result may be associated with one of theselected card representation subsets and a second lottery resulttogether with the payout value for that result may be associated withthe other selected card representation subset. In this case, the secondset of card representations may be selected so that the combination ofthe first selected card representation subset and the second set of cardrepresentations at the allocated wager level for the first subset isconsistent with one lottery result and so that the combination of thesecond selected card representation subset and the second set of cardrepresentations at the allocated wager level for the second subset isconsistent with the other lottery result. That is, one result payoutvalue will be equal to one of the awarded prize values while the otherresult payout value will be equal to the other one of the awarded prizevalues. Alternatively, the second set of card representations may becontrolled so that the two combinations at the allocated wager levelsare consistent only with the total of the two lottery results. That is,even if the results for the two player-selected card representationsubsets in our example are taken from two lottery game results, theresulting hands produced when combined with the second set of cardrepresentations need not correlate to the two lottery results in someimplementations of the invention. For a specific example of thisimplementation, assume a player selects two card representation subsetsand that two lottery results are selected, one having a payout of tencredits and one having a payout of five credits. In this case the secondset of card representations may be selected such that one hand producedby combining one of the selected card representation subsets with thesecond set of card representations at the allocated wager levelcorrelates to a result payout value of fifteen credits, that is, thetotal of the two lottery results, while the other card hand correlatesto a result payout value of no credits. Allowing the combined hands tocorrelate to result payout values that total to the lottery result totalprovides greater flexibility in selecting the cards to be included inthe second set of card representations.

Corresponding options are available in the invention where the resultsare taken from a bingo-type game. That is, one or more bingo-type gameresults may be represented by combinations made by multiple selectedcard representation subsets with the second set of card representations,or each selected card representation subset may be associated with aseparate bingo-type game result.

It will also be noted that the number of card representation subsetsselected for play in a given instance of the game cycle shown in FIG. 2may affect the player's odds of winning in the game. For example, theplayer's odds of winning may be reduced as the player selects more cardrepresentation subsets to play in a given cycle. In this case, differentpay tables may be applied based on the number of card representationsubsets that are selected for play by the player in a give cycle of thegame. The different pay tables account for the different odds resultingfrom the player's selection of multiple card representation subsets forplay in the game.

The above-described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate theprinciples of the invention, but not to limit the scope of theinvention. Various other embodiments and modifications to thesepreferred embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

As used herein, whether in the above description or the followingclaims, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”,“containing”, “involving”, and the like are to be understood to beopen-ended, that is, to mean including but not limited to. Only thetransitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of,”respectively, shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, asset forth, with respect to claims, in the United States Patent OfficeManual of Patent Examining Procedures (Eighth Edition, August 2001 asrevised May 2004), Section 2111.03.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in theclaims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are usedmerely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain namefrom another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinalterm) to distinguish the claim elements.

1. A method including: (a) receiving a wager input from a player; (b)displaying a plurality of starting hands to the player on an electronicdisplay at a player station, the starting hands each consisting of twoplaying card representations, the starting hands being displayed faceup, the starting hands each being mutually exclusive to the otherstarting hands; (c) after displaying the starting hands, receiving aninput from a player to select first and second ones of the startinghands; (d) identifying a first result and a second result for the playerbased on one or more results produced independently of the playing cardrepresentations; and (e) displaying a community set of cardrepresentations consisting of five card representations face up at theplayer station display device and combining the first starting hand withthe community set according to poker rules to produce a first optimumpoker hand consistent with the first result identified for the player,and further combining the community set of card representations with thesecond starting hand to produce a second optimum poker hand consistentwith the second result identified for the player; (f) awarding a resultbased on a combined credit value of the first and second results.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, in which the wager input is received after displayingat least some of the card representations face up.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein identifying the first and second results includesobtaining at least one electronic lottery ticket.
 4. The method of claim1 wherein identifying the first and second results includes associatinga different electronic lottery ticket with each respective startinghand.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the first and secondresults includes obtaining at least one electronic bingo game result. 6.The method of claim 1 further including associating a different bingocard representation with each of the first and second starting hands andobtaining an electronic bingo game result for each bingo cardrepresentation.
 7. The method of claim 6 in the results for each bingocard representation are not known at the time the starting hands areselected at step (c).
 8. The method of claim 1 in which identifying theresult for the player is based on a bingo result obtained from abingo-type game played by grouping multiple players' game play requestsat a gaming server after receiving the input to select one or more ofthe subsets.
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising prompting theplayer to make a choice between options including at least increasingand decreasing a wager for each selected starting hand.
 10. The methodof claim 1 further including displaying a label proximate each of thestarting hands after displaying the community set of cardrepresentations, the respective labels indicating an optimum value forthe respective combination of starting hand and the community set ofcard representations.
 11. A method including: (a) receiving a wagerinput from a player; (b) displaying a plurality of starting hands to theplayer on an electronic display at a player station, the starting handseach including a plurality of card representations, the starting handsbeing displayed face up, the starting hands each being mutuallyexclusive to the other starting hands; (c) after displaying the startinghands, receiving an input from a player to select first and second onesof the starting hands; (d) identifying a first result and a secondresult for the player based on one or more results producedindependently of the playing card representations; and (e) displaying acommunity set of card representations consisting of five cardrepresentations face up at the player station display device andcombining the first starting hand with the community set according topoker rules to produce a first optimum poker hand which is producedusing only cards from the community set and the first starting hand, andwhich is entitled to an award consistent with the first resultidentified for the player, and further combining the community set ofcard representations with the second starting hand to produce a secondoptimum poker hand, which is produced using only cards from thecommunity set and the second starting hand, and which is entitled to anaward consistent with the second result identified for the player; (f)awarding a result based on a combined credit value of the first andsecond results.
 12. The method of claim 11, in which the wager input isreceived after displaying at least some of the card representations faceup.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein identifying the first and secondresults includes obtaining at least one electronic lottery ticket. 14.The method of claim 11 wherein identifying the first and second resultsincludes associating a different electronic lottery ticket with eachrespective starting hand.
 15. The method of claim 11 wherein identifyingthe first and second results includes obtaining at least one electronicbingo game result.
 16. The method of claim 11 further includingassociating a different bingo card representation with each of the firstand second starting hands and obtaining an electronic bingo game resultfor each bingo card representation.
 17. The method of claim 16 in theresults for each bingo card representation are not known at the time thestarting hands are selected at step (c).
 18. The method of claim 11 inwhich identifying the result for the player is based on a bingo resultobtained from a bingo-type game played by grouping multiple players'game play requests at a gaming server after receiving the input toselect one or more of the subsets.
 19. The method of claim 11 furthercomprising prompting the player to make a choice between optionsincluding at least increasing and decreasing a wager for each selectedstarting hand.
 20. The method of claim 11 further including displaying alabel proximate each of the starting hands after displaying thecommunity set of card representations, the respective labels indicatingan optimum value for the respective combination of starting hand and thecommunity set of card representations.